St Cuthbert's Crypt Development Project was launched at a meeting held in the church on the evening of 21 June 2018. Charlotte Dodgeon gave a presentation about the proposed changes to the crypt, which is summarised below. Father Paul followed with a fascinating pictorial history of the church.

Charlotte's presentation covered the following:

(1) The Opportunity

St Cuthbert's Church is a gem of Arts and Crafts Architecture

It has a unique interior, created as a true "community effort"

It holds a stunning collection of vestments and other artefacts

It sits on the edge of an extensive development that will transform the area

It is ideally placed to be a focus for heritage and community activities as well as a spiritual focus.

(2) The Challenge

The body of the church can be used for a wide range of events, but ...

It is difficult to get to the existing toilet facilities

The crypt area is tired, run down and unattractive for users, with poor access

The collections aren't well stored, or particularly accessible.​

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The plan below shows the existing layout of the crypt

​​​​(3) The Plan

To make the crypt a more useful and useable space

To provide direct access to the crypt from the streeet

To install new facilities

To create a bespoke storage space in the Upper Sacristy for vestments

(4) The Wider Benefits

A better downstairs space will mean the church can cater for more, and a wider range of users

|The collections will be accessible for study and research

It can help to begin the process of making the history and heritage of the church known more widely

(5) The Project

We will be applying to the Heritage Lottery Fund and other funders for a project to:

Restore the crypt, improving access through a lift and a new staircase

A programme of events to enable a wide range of people to learn about the heritage of St Cuthbert's through

Creating an online archive of the vestments and collections

A series of talks on the history of the church

Art projects with the local school, theatre projects with young people

Other creative projects

Your ideas for what you would like to see happen!

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The plan below shows the proposed changes to the crypt, including a new staircase and lift access.